maybe it needs a good cleaning. I bought a similar heater/cooker at an auction, didn't want it but it came with something that I did want. anyway, I played with it after getting it home and the noise and popping sounds coming from it almost had me throwing it out in the snow, but I let it burn. It took some fine tuning but it finally started to work and throw some heat. Since then I blew it out with an air compressor, and it works well for an antique. The fine tuning I did was mostly with a 2lb hammer, gently tapping on things. There are new parts available for these heaters. good luck.